An Italian man clambered onto a ledge on the huge dome of St Peter's Basilica to stage a precarious protest against Prime Minister Mario Monti and the European Union.

Video footage showed the man, identified as Marcello Di Finizio, jumping over railings near the top of the 420- ft high dome on Tuesday afternoon, shocking visitors taking a tour. He then tied a cord to the railings and abseiled to a ledge over a window in the cupola.

He said he is angry about a European Union directive and Italian government plan that will see licences to operate patches of seafront auctioned off transparently from 2016.

(AP)

Beach workers say the plan will favour multinational companies over smaller local businesses.

Di Finizio has staged several public protests against the plans, and had already climbed out onto St Peter's dome during a shorter protest in July when he demanded a meeting with Tourism Minister Piero Gnudi, according to beach industry website Mondo Balneare.